A previously unseen version of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has been discovered, seemingly completely out of nowhere. The classic 1994 release’s early preview build has been picked up by Hidden Palace and The Cutting Room Floor, and it’s revealed some huge differences to the final version we all know and love. It’s so different in fact, that it’s pretty much an entirely new Sonic game.
As told by Hidden Palace, Sonic 3 had a difficult production that saw it eventually being transformed into two games, the latter of these becoming Sonic & Knuckles.
SEGA hired outside help to ensure that Sonic 3 was released on time, but the earlier, chunkier version of the game was never shown off to the public. Well. Almost.
Just one publication in the world was sent a copy of the early game: British publication, Sega Magazine. Now, thanks to the tireless efforts of Hidden Palace and The Cutting Room, it’s been gifted to the world.
“Through the support of The Cutting Room Floor and a couple of very close friends, we were able to acquire the real deal. Not only is the prototype burnt on EPROMs, the prototype itself matches the same exact prototype seen in SEGA Magazine,” writes Hidden Palace.
The original Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and the preview copy have quite a number of notable differences – including the presence of the ‘Drop Dash’ move that never made it into the final build. Other changes include never-before-heard music, plus new level designs.
Hidden Palace writes: “This prototype reflects a moment in development when the game had just begun to split itself into two parts. Flying Battery is still here complete with bosses, with Lava Reef present in left over data buried deep within the ROM.
“Programming for many objects, badniks, and bosses for the other cut zones hasn’t been removed yet, and are still present inside the ROM. All three bonus stages are present, although all of them are unfinished. The special stage(s) are nothing more than programming tests at this point. Oddly enough, Angel Island contains the most differences despite being the first level in the game.
“The best thing about this prototype is that it presents more questions than answers. Why does the game have a drop-dash like ability for Sonic? Why is there a second unique style of special stage? Was Flying Battery going to be part of Sonic 3 Part 1? And above all, why is all the music for the later stages completely different and based on the tracks from the PC port. Where’s MJ?! In many ways, it feels like playing Sonic 2 Simon Wai in 1999 all over again.”
If you’re keen to see just how different the original version was to the one we ended up with, you can download and test out the preview code via an emulator. Check out the link here [via Kotaku].
Featured Image Credit: SEGA